Having difficulty getting enough protein

[lonelyheroine]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I became a full vegan two months ago and for the most part, it's been working out pretty well. The problem I'm facing is that I can't seem to get enough protein to sustain my very active lifestyle. I'm an endurance runner and over the past couple of weeks, the muscles on my legs have shrunk and there's loose skin where the muscle was previously. I eat beans and rice, as that makes a complete protein, tofu, oatmeal, soy milk and lots and lots of vegetables. Peanut butter is another item in my daily diet.

Does anyone else have this issue and if so, what can be done to fix it?

 

[silva]

That sounds crazy fast to happen in two months--it sounds more like you're just not getting the same calories!
Have you tracked your diet?
Food combining for 'complete proteins' is an old myth, and it's really easier to get too much protein than too little
I get between 55-65 a day without trying.

protein | Health Topics | NutritionFacts.org

nutritionfacts.org

The Plant-Based Diet for Athletes: A Typical Day | No Meat Athlete

You might want to try seitan. Gluten and either tofu or beans make a very high protein source

 

[LoreD]

There are quite a few vegan protein powders out there. A scoop in the morning smoothie, and you will get your protein .

I combine a scoop of pea or hemp protein powder with a scoop of green powder drink in the morning. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich works too.

 

[lonelyheroine]

Thanks so much for all the help! I don't think I do get enough calories for the ones I expend daily. As a life-long runner and someone who suffered from serious eating disorders since I was a teen, I guess I need to be careful. Those suggestions that both of you made sound great. The thing about eating a great deal of vegetables is that you fill up faster and stay filled and that gives the feeling of satiety. So I really can't put the blame on protein if I'm being honest with myself.

 

[bEt]

I can see how it's harder to get enough calories and protein as an athlete. I'm not, and still I find I can fall short if I'm not careful. Have you ever used tempeh or natto? The protein powder suggestion sounds like a good idea. How about fats for calories too? My understanding is that if your body isn't getting enough calories, it can start to use protein as calories.
Do you already use either cronometer or the Recipe Nutrition Calculator
on myfooddata.com 's

Nutrition Data Tools

to add up your foods and nutrients for a day?
As an athlete, my guess is that probably you would need more than the average for both calories and protein.

Have you browsed around Vegan Health Front Page especially Tips for New Vegans

Some of the comments and links there are interesting, too.
Do you have a copy of Virginia Messina's book Vegan for Her
or other books on strict vegetarian diets? I think there are at least a few geared towards athletes.
Do you eat fruits and nuts and seeds for more concentrated calories, soluble fiber and important fatty acids?
Besides oatmeal, buckwheat is another grain with comparatively high protein, though it is not to everyone's taste.

 

[LoreD]

Thanks so much for all the help! I don't think I do get enough calories for the ones I expend daily. As a life-long runner and someone who suffered from serious eating disorders since I was a teen, I guess I need to be careful. Those suggestions that both of you made sound great. The thing about eating a great deal of vegetables is that you fill up faster and stay filled and that gives the feeling of satiety. So I really can't put the blame on protein if I'm being honest with myself.

I recently watched a video about a man who changed to a vegan diet to deal with some serious health issues. He initially had some major problems with headaches, vertigo, insomnia, and fatigue. He just about doubled his food intake, all the issues disappeared, and he lost weight.

I am a fairly sedentary 70 year old, and, for lunch, I can finish off a cup of rice, a cup of beans (or tofu), a couple of cups of vegetables (with sauce), some fruit for dessert, and a cup of plant milk. If I was an athlete, I would probably double that.

 

[Lou]

There is something you'll hear a lot among vegans. If you are eating enough calories - you're getting enough protein. It's just a little trickier than that but basically that's the whole ball of wax.

However, if you are an endurance runner and you're not tracking your nutrition... well... I can't think of a good analogy... maybe a Baja 500 racer that doesn't know if he has enough gas to get him to the finish line.

Do you know how many calories you burn in a day?

Nowadays most of have fitness trackers. or a smart phone that can figure it out for us.
You can just ball park by taking the number of miles you ran and multiplying by 100 and then adding 1200. That really is just a ball park but if you are burning 1600 calories a day you also need to eat 1600 calories a day. And if you want to add muscle you may need 2000 calories a day.

You can figure out how many calories you consume in a day by using Cronometer or any number of apps or web sites. you can even do it on the back of a napkin.

If you go into calorie deficit, first you burn fat but if you run out of body fat - then your body burns muscles. This is bad for a whole lot of reasons and needs to be avoided. One of the best reasons to avoid this is called the Female Athlete Triad. And you may be susceptible to it.

Your diet already sounds pretty good. You just might need to increase the portions.

 

[Kathy Lauren]

When I was younger, I used to cross-country ski regularly in winter, and I would enter a ski marathon (42km) every year. For years, I struggled to get my time down, but it stayed at 4 hours 30 minutes. Then, the year I went vegan, my time dropped to 4 hours. It stayed there in subsequent years. So being vegan is no barrier to endurance athletics.

I never worried excessively about eating. I didn't do protein combining or anything like that. My diet consisted (and still does) of eating regularly from the four vegan food groups: grains, legumes, fruits and nuts, and other vegetables.

 

[Emma JC]

welcome to the forum - good to have more fellow Canadians

I agree with everyone who suggests it may be calories and not protein specifically.

As Lou suggests Cronometer should be your new friend for a while to help you to adjust to your new awesome lifestyle.

I like to call myself a Starchivore (per Dr McDougall) and we eat a ton of food (especially starches) and are basically couch potatoes and don't gain weight so I can only imagine if I was exercising as much as you are, how much more food I would have to eat. Bring on the pasta!!!

Keep us in the loop and we are here to help however we can.

Congrats on making the decision to be vegan!

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Lou]

I forgot to welcome you to the forum. And congratulate you on going vegan.

BTW, Chronometer is great but it's complicated and you don't have to use it. You can use MyFitnessTracker or Calory both of which are super simple.

A word of warning. You mentioned that you suffered from an eating disorder. It's been reported that using a calorie counting app has triggered eating disorders in people susceptible to them.

For people who can't for shouldn't use a calorie counter - the best bet is to follow a meal plan. There are apps that can make you a meal plan or there are ready made meal plans that are made for specific calorie goals. There are even vegan ones!

PETA has a good one and my favorite is from PCRM. There is even an online generator of Meal Plans called EatThisMuch,.

I know I already brought up the Female Athlete Triad but I think it bears repeating. There are three boxes
that you already checked. Female, Athlete, Restrictive Diet. And the consequences can be devestating. Please make sure you are eating enough calories. Good luck.

 

[LoreD]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I became a full vegan two months ago and for the most part, it's been working out pretty well. The problem I'm facing is that I can't seem to get enough protein to sustain my very active lifestyle. I'm an endurance runner and over the past couple of weeks, the muscles on my legs have shrunk and there's loose skin where the muscle was previously. I eat beans and rice, as that makes a complete protein, tofu, oatmeal, soy milk and lots and lots of vegetables. Peanut butter is another item in my daily diet.

Does anyone else have this issue and if so, what can be done to fix it?

I think the best recommendation is to buy, or request a library book, on vegan nutrition for athletes. I went on Amazon, and they had quite a few kindle downloads of vegan sports nutrition books.

They seem to include meal plans specifically for athletes. We can give you some general knowledge, but I would go to the professiona!s for in depth information:

Amazon.com : plant based athlete

 

[Tom L.]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I became a full vegan two months ago and for the most part, it's been working out pretty well. The problem I'm facing is that I can't seem to get enough protein to sustain my very active lifestyle. I'm an endurance runner and over the past couple of weeks, the muscles on my legs have shrunk and there's loose skin where the muscle was previously. I eat beans and rice, as that makes a complete protein, tofu, oatmeal, soy milk and lots and lots of vegetables. Peanut butter is another item in my daily diet.

Does anyone else have this issue and if so, what can be done to fix it?

I'm neither an endurance runner nor a health care professional, but that sounds like a dramatic physical change in such a short time- even taking into account your demanding exercise regimen and your veganism. Have you seen a doctor about your weight loss?

 

[lonelyheroine]

I want to thank everyone who has generously responded to my inquiry. You're all amazing and I'm looking forward to giving everyone here some help as well, as it certainly goes both ways.

 

[David3]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I became a full vegan two months ago and for the most part, it's been working out pretty well. The problem I'm facing is that I can't seem to get enough protein to sustain my very active lifestyle. I'm an endurance runner and over the past couple of weeks, the muscles on my legs have shrunk and there's loose skin where the muscle was previously. I eat beans and rice, as that makes a complete protein, tofu, oatmeal, soy milk and lots and lots of vegetables. Peanut butter is another item in my daily diet.

Does anyone else have this issue and if so, what can be done to fix it?

.
The American Council on Exercise (ace.org), although not a vegetarian organization, seems to approve of properly-planned vegetarian/vegan diets: The Benefits of Following a Plant-based Diet

You might find it useful to plan your vegan nutrition with the help of a Registered Dietitian. In Canada, you can find a local Registered Dietitian through the Dietitians of Canada website: DCMember .

 

[shyvas]

I would also suggest that you get some expert advice from a qualified dietitian. It does sound like your muscle loss may be
due to a lack of protein.

 

[lonelyheroine]

You are likely right. I'm going to do some research on what combines with another food to make a complete protein. I eat red beans and rice frequently and soy as well. I'm not giving up on my vegan way of eating, I just need to be more mindful and do the extra work that is needed to be a healthy vegan. I see a nurse practitioner from time to time and I think making an appointment to talk with her would be a good idea. I worked damned hard for my muscles and don't like them wasting away on me.

 

[Emma JC]

You are likely right. I'm going to do some research on what combines with another food to make a complete protein. I eat red beans and rice frequently and soy as well. I'm not giving up on my vegan way of eating, I just need to be more mindful and do the extra work that is needed to be a healthy vegan. I see a nurse practitioner from time to time and I think making an appointment to talk with her would be a good idea. I worked damned hard for my muscles and don't like them wasting away on me.

Rice and beans.... yum!!!

I would suggest eating lots more potatoes, sweet potatoes etc. Pack in those calories!! Make some amazing chili and serve it over potatoes and you get the best of all worlds, veggies/starches/proteins, spices.

Have you heard of Andrew Taylor aka Spudfit? worth reading up on his journey, he ate nothing but potatoes for a year.
A quote from his website "At the end of 2016 I was physically the heaviest and mentally the lowest I'd ever been, and on course for a lifetime of ill-health. I was terrified, confused and exhausted. I needed an emergency brake before I passed the point of no return."
Now he is healthy and successful and very athletic.

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Lou]

You are likely right. I'm going to do some research on what combines with another food to make a complete protein.

Don't bother researching. I will give you a link to a good article at the end of this thread. It's really all you need to know on this topic. The article is well researched and heavily referenced. It is a little old but it's been constantly updated. It's what I found when I first became vegan and I haven't found the need to find anything better. It makes its point. Maybe the author is a little snarky.

complete proteins and food combining is a persistent myth. The author who first proposed the ideas recanted about 50 years ago. but still people talk about it. The article I'm referencing goes thru the whole history.

The two important take-a-ways are that all plants contain "complete proteins" and if you eat enough calories - you get enough protein.

So that makes your meal planning for protein very easy. Just eat whole food and meet your calorie requirements. It's the other nutrients that make it more complicated.

Protein for Vegetarians (& the myth of incomplete proteins)

 

[David3]

I would suggest eating lots more potatoes, sweet potatoes etc. Pack in those calories!!

.
@Emma JC , please forgive my post here. I am about to be rude, but it's necessary for the sake of accuracy.

@lonelyheroine, eating potatoes is a terrible way to pack in calories and protein.

An entire pound of boiled potatoes only contains 349 calories and 9 grams of protein: Calories in 1 lb of Potato (Flesh and Skin) and Nutrition Facts .

If you are an athlete, you will have a very difficult time meeting your calorie and protein needs from potatoes (unless you are prepared to eat at least 6 pounds of potatoes per day).

@lonelyheroine, please consider planning your diet with the help of a Registered Dietitian, as I recommended above. Public forums are a very poor source of accurate information.

 

[Lou]

If you are an athlete, you will have a very difficult time meeting your calorie and protein needs from potatoes (unless you are prepared to eat at least 6 pounds of potatoes per day).

no one has suggested you eat only potatoes.

if 10 percent of your calories came from potatoes, you would also be getting about 10% of your protein requirement. Plus 30% of your magnesium requirement and 60% of your Vitamin C requirement.

Something that has been pointed out by almost everyone who studies nutrition is that we should eat a large variety of Whole Foods.

Emma is exactly right. Potatoes Should be part of anyone's diet.